The brand-new variation of Apple’s mobile OS, iOS 7, is the biggest change because the icon-laden software application showed up on the scene to interfere with the competition, all the means back in 2007. The danger for Apple now is that the OS redesign interrupts its own user-base, so here’s one indicator of how Cupertino is handling the change: it’s upgraded the App Shop to offer a prompt to iOS gadgets that are not suitable with the most recent version/s of iOS enabling them to download the ‘last compatible version’ of the app. The change was identified by a Reddit user (by means of The Brink) who’d tried setting up Instagram on a 2nd-gen iPod Touch.

iOS 7 will be pushed out to the majority of iOS devices – becoming available for general download, beginning September 18 – but the iPhone 3GS won’t have the ability to get it, nor will the first-gen iPad. While the app compatibility prompt cares for the owners of those older iOS gadgets, who’d otherwise be getting left behind by the move to iOS 7, it’s likewise most likely that this has to do with Apple making sure individuals of newer iOS gadgets who could upgrade if they wanted to however select not to likewise are not left behind as designers rush to repaint their apps in iOS 7′s fluorescent colours.

In various other words, if you do not wish to upgrade your iOS device because you like all the skeuomorphism then you won’t be penalized by Apple with a shrinking swimming pool of apps to download – at least, not for now.

The ‘last compatible’ app prompt may be about guaranteeing developers as much as individuals, though. While individuals are not being railroaded by Apple onto a variation of iOS they mightn’t feel prepared for yet, developers get the peace of mind that there will not be a risk of their apps only reaching a sub-set of iOS individuals who’re comfortable about updating to iOS 7 right away – giving them a reward to deal with iOS 7 app updates without fretting about whether their individuals are going to be there yet or not. (Albeit there could be more work required for developers to maintain older versions of their app, in addition to a huge iOS 7 update).

I checked the compatibility prompt on an iPad mini running iOS 6.0.1 and got the below message when attempting to download the Weatherbug app, which requires iOS 6.1: